Our Work Of Art
by miskipa
Summary: Edward left Bella just like in New Moon, But the rest never happened. No Jacob, No Werewolfs, BUT Bella was pregnant. Impossible? not so much. Now 73 yrs later, they're reunited. Bella's a vampire and has two 'people' that the Cullen's really need to meet
1. Chapter 1

"Mom!" Brooke yells. I roll my eyes.

"What now, Brooke?" She'd had herself locked in her bathroom for the past hour.

"I can't find my curling iron anywhere." Honestly I don't know how she can lose something like that. But somehow she till manages to do so.

"Are you sure its not in your bathroom?" It probably was.

"Yes, I'm sure. That's the first place I looked!" She said in an extremely irritated tone of voice.

"Oh! It's in mine. I forgot that I used it. Sorry." I replied apologetically. I needed it for my interview for the teaching job at the local high school. Apparently the previous teacher had a near fatal heart attack and decided it was time for retirement. Everyone else at the school was probably thinking the same thing as well.

Unfortunately, I didn't get it. The Principal said it was something about me looking too young, so the students wouldn't respect me. Ridiculous. Physically I was at least five years older then any of them anyway.

Oh well. It's not as if we need the money or anything. I mean after seventy some years of working at various high schools around the country the money kind of begins to pile up.

"Where is Darrin anyway?" Brooke asks, stirring me from my thoughts.

"He said he'd be here by 7 o'clock, he still has five minutes, and knowing your brother he will most likely show up as the last minute." We had a family hunting trip planned for tonight and Darrin had decided to go out anyway.

I look up and see Brooke's hair is completely styled and looking fabulous. Something I'd never be able to achieve, know matter how long I worked at it.

"Brooke, honey, why do you insist on doing your hair like that? We're only going hunting you know?" She just rolls her eyes at me and turns around back toward the bathroom. She reminds me so much of Alice at times like there. She's someone I rarely think about. I try not to.

"Here come Darrin now." I say just as he opens the front door. "Just in time. Let's go."

"Alright!" He says. He's always excited when we go hunting as a family. He sees it as competition. "I'll race you Sis!" He yells, running toward his huge white Dodge Ram 2500. There's absolutely no way he's winning this race. Brooke's Corvette will totally blow his truck away.

As they speed away, I walk to my car at a human's pace. I have a Ford Escape. Not showy at all. Unlike Brooke and Darrin's brand-new vehicles. But of course I've never been one to want to draw attention to myself.

As I pull up to next to Brooke's navy blue Corvette, at our usual hunting spot, I see them waiting for me near the edge of the woods.

I quickly sprint over to them and say "Well, So who won the race?"

Darrin quickly replies "Brooke did, but I let her win." Yea, of course he did. Brooke just laughs at this and then looks at me.

"Well alright then, Let's go!" She says.


	2. Chapter 2

As we all pull into our driveway, I check the time. Nine thirteen. Wow, we've seriously been gone that long? Time flies when you're having fun I guess. The hunting trip went excellent. I bagged three bobcats, Darrin got a big brown bear and Brooke caught two mountain lion. Those are her favorite. Same as her father, although I've never told her this mostly becuase I try to avoid speaking of the Cullens as much as possible.

"Nice hunting tonight, Mom." Darrin says with a big grin on his face. "Those bobcats never stood a chance." He was always in a good mood. Unless he couldn't figure out how to beat a particular part in a video game or if someone was better at something then him. He reminded me of Emmett a lot. Always fun, and happy.

"Thanks. And Darrin you really should be a little more conservative with the bears. Eventually we'll have to move hunting spots again if you don't lay off."

"Sorry. I'll try." He said, walking toward the house again.

We walk in the house together and I tell Darrin and Brooke that I'm going to go listen to some music in my room. So I go upstairs and I lay on my bed and grab the remote to my radio. I decide to listen to my favorite CD. It's completely full of Claire de Lune.

It always makes me think of Edward. And thinking of Edward makes me think of the Cullens. So I usually avoid this CD. But tonight I've already been thinking about them a lot so even if I would have avoided it, it wouldn't have mattered. I miss them all so much. Most of all Edward. And Alice, Esme, Carlisle, Jasper, and Emmett. Even Rosalie. Even though we never really talked and she never was even remotely friendly towards me, I still missed her.

I haven't seen or heard from any of them in over seventy-three years. Of course they probably think I'm dead so they really have no reason to look. The last time I seen any of them was the day before Edward left me. The day he completely shattered my heart. None of them except Edward had gone to school that day, apparently packing for the big move, he wouldn't even let Alice say good-bye to me. He said a clean break would be the easiest and the only way that would inflict the least amount of pain on me. So when Edward left, he took my heart, my first love and my best friend with him.

To make matters worse, I was a month pregnant and neither of us knew. So with Edward gone, I gave birth 8 months later to twins. This was a total surprise since neither of us even thought that it would be possible. I went to college, with the help of Charlie, he watched Brooke and Darrin during the day while I went to school. He was hilarious to watch while he was interacting with them both.

And after four years of excruciating hard work I received a degree in high school education. Specifically, for high school English.

That's why I was in Seattle that night, the night I got turned.


	3. Chapter 3

_Alright first off a little disclaimer: Twilight in all its glory is owned by Stephenie Meyer. The only thing I'm responsible for is Brooke and Darrin and the sequence of events the follows. _

_Okay, so this chapter is a little bit longer than the others. I tried. I'm not really good at writing long chapters but I'm trying. ENJOY!_

I went there to go shopping. My least favorite activity ever. But I had to do it. I needed clothes for interviews. Something a little more suitable then jeans and a tee shirt. I seriously doubted that those clothes would be a good representation of my abilities as a teacher.

Brooke and Darrin were only five at the time. We still lived in Forks with Charlie. I still needed help with the kids and there was no way I could afford to be on my own. I already had so much debt from college.

So after a long night of shopping I was ready to go home and sleep. I'd gotten a lot of clothes. I couldn't help but think that if Alice were with me we would have been done in under two hours. That girl could definitely shop.

As I was walking out of the mall and into the parking lot I noticed there weren't a lot of people around. As I arrived at my car, I looked around once more, completely alone. Or so I thought.

I turned to unlock my door to my car, by then my truck had died and I was forced to get a new form of transportation, and that's when I felt something hard tackle me to the ground. I tried to scream but it was useless. Whoever had me in their iron tight grasp also had my mouth covered with their hand.

They drug me to an alley that was just a little ways away from the parking lot and that's when I knew I was being attacked by a vampire.

I had been bitten, I could tell because I felt the fire begin to coarse through my veins. I'd experienced this once before but Edward had prevented me from being turned that time.

After less then thirty seconds of being in the alley the vampire fled. At first I was confused. I was expecting to die. I sat up slowly. I was in an immense amount of pain but tried not to show it because I seen three worried people standing at the end of the alley. I struggled to stand and I walked toward then fighting the pain. I thanked then and told them there would be no need to call the police and that I would be fine.

When they tried to insist on calling the police I politely, or as politely as I could manage, explained to them that I didn't even get a good look at the person and that there would be very little chance of the person being caught. I, however, knew that there was absolutely no chance of them ever being caught. So I again reassured them that I would be fine and left. Of course, I knew I wouldn't be fine and that in less then three days I would be a vampire.

I called Charlie as soon as I got back to the car and told him I needed to stay with a friend for a couple of days and asked him to take care of Brooke and Darrin.

I rented a hotel room for four days. And on the third day I expected a nagging thirst but it never came. I was extremely confused. Every one of the Cullens had all experienced the physical yearning for blood within three days. So I decided to test myself and allowed myself to be exposed to people. As I walked past them I felt the slightest need for something but I didn't know what. Although the physical thirst for blood wasn't there, there was no doubt in my mind that I was now a vampire. I had the look, pale and red eyes (only because I was a newborn). I had the speed, I noticed this as I was pacing around the room. And I no longer had a need for sleep. I didn't sleep at all last night.

The first thing I did was I drove to the nearest forest I could find and hunted for the very first time. I went simple with my kill, a deer. Instantly I felt relieved. My thirst had been quenched. That's when I became convinced that I had no pull toward blood, human or otherwise. And I was right. But I need it. That was for sure. I could feel the relief as soon as I fed on that deer. My only explanation for this was that since I was so disgusted by blood as a human, to the point that if I even smelt it I would faint, that I was almost immune to the pull towards it as a vampire.

_So how'd I do?_


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for the short chapter. I tried to make it longer... I really did.. sorry.  
Disclaimer: In know way do i take credit for any of the characters or situations that extended from the twilight series. However, Brooke and Darrin are totally mine!

I went back to the hotel and packed everything up and called Charlie. I told him I was coming home today and that I'd be home in a couple of hours. I went to the front desk and got refunded for the unused night that I had originally paid for, then I left Seattle.

The entire way home I was focused on Brooke and Darrin, they were only five, so I would have no choice but to keep the truth from them until they were older. I was so relieved to know that I would be able to stay with them, and that I wouldn't have the want to kill them. Of course, I knew that I would have to deal with the fact that I would no longer age and therefore be forever twenty-three.

I still had no idea how the vampire side of Brooke and Darrin would eventually reveal itself. And I wasn't sure if it even would. But I had a feeling that with my bad luck, it was inevitable that it would somehow appear. And sure enough, when they turned fourteen, I began to see the signs.

They lost their color and started exhibiting the speed that vampires had. At this point I was forced to tell them the truth about their father and tell them that they could no longer participate in sports. Brooke took this news the hardest. She was an incredible mid-fielder for her junior high soccer team.

Over the next three years their appetites decreased until they were virtually nonexistent, and at that point I had no other choice but to teach them to hunt and introduce them fully to the vampire lifestyle. They stopped ageing when they turned seventeen as well. Just like Edward… forever seventeen. It was like a club that I was excluded from.

"MOM!" I heard Brooke yell, pulling me out of my reverie. I glanced at the clock, seven o'clock in the morning already. I rolled out of my bed and started down the stairs.

"What is it Brooke?" She probably lost something again. I noticed that her hair was hanging loosely around her shoulders, copper and beautiful. Both she and Darrin had inherited Edward's unique hair color. But unlike Edward's hair, Darrin's was short, he had always preferred it this way. It was so short that between the hair-cut and his body build, someone could mistake him for a Marine. Darrin was taller than Brooke, and if my memory served me right, he was also taller than Edward, only by a few inches though. Brooke was taller then me as well. She was probably just a couple inches shorter than what Edward's height had been. This meant that I was the short "older sister", or at least that's how it appeared to everyone else.

"I need to get ready for school and Darrin is still in the shower!" She complained, in an extremely irritating whiny voice.

"Brooke, sweetie, you do have your own bathroom you know?"

"Yes, but my hair straightened is in that one!" She said, and again, in that whiny voice

"Can't you do something else in the mean time? Like your make-up or something?"

"Mom, I already did that." She said as if it was the most obvious thing ever.

"Well, I don't know then I guess you'll just have to wait." She was extremely whiny that morning, or maybe it was just me. Probably just me.

"Hmmm…"

"What?" I said back too her. This didn't sound good.

"I know! I can do your hair and make-up!" Just like Alice, I thought.

"But I don't have anywhere or anything I need to do today that would require my hair or make-up to be done." I argued, hoping that I'd get her to back down.

"So what? Doesn't it just feel good to look in the mirror and see yourself all done up?" I was thinking that I didn't really care what I looked like in the mirror but I just caved in anyway.

"Fine." I said reluctantly, as I trudged toward her bathroom. At least one of us would be happy.

Same old Bella, caves into anyone. sooo REWIEWS?


	5. Chapter 5

As RoryAceHayden147 put it "Cue Cullens"  
Enjoy!

As I drove the kids to school, I knew they'd be late. I drove as fast as I could but there was the morning traffic in Forks to deal with. Its not that there were a lot of cars to deal with, its just that I couldn't speed as fast as I would have liked too. I hated being late for anything, even thought it wasn't me that was going to be late.

I completely lost track of time while I was being tortured by Brooke. Usually, while she's busy torturing me this way, I just try to find a happy place and attempt to zone out. Darrin rushed into Brooke's bathroom, yelling about being late and complaining about listening to his first period teacher lecture him on timeliness. Apparently, this is a lecture he had obviously heard before.

I pulled into the driveway of Forks High and parked the car quickly, I didn't even bother to turn it off. In this little town there was like zero chance that anyone would think about stealing someone's car.

We rushed into the front office and up to the desk of the only secretary this school had. Apparently they only needed one, given the small amount of students, this made sense. It was still just as small as it had been when I attended it in my human years.

"Hi! I need to sign these two in. We're running a bit late today..." I quickly explained, laughing nervously to the secretary. She just looked at me for a second, staring at my hair that was done up in a formal looking up-do. She obviously thought it was my fault. Nonetheless, she was still just as polite as ever when she finally said something.

"No problem. Just write their names here and give the reasons why they're late and that's all." She explained.

"Thank you." I replied as I quickly wrote their names on the sheet and the reason as to why we were late, I said the alarm clock didn't go off, this almost made me laugh considering that we didn't even have one within our house. I handed it back to her. She quickly added another thing that I needed to write.

"We'll also need your relationship to them, since your obviously not their mother." This caught me off guard at first and then I quickly wrote down 'sister' in the blank space. That was our story, I was their older sister. Our parents had been killed in a tragic car accident.

Actually, both of their parents were living vampires and both of my parents had been dead for quite some time now, neither because of a car accident.

Charlie died when he was in his sixties, heart attack. It was probably caused by all that fast food he was always ordering, since he had basically no idea how to cook for himself. We all attended the funeral and that time our cover story was that Brooke and Darrin were Charlie's grandchildren (no lie there) and I was Darrin's older girlfriend. Talk about awkward.

Renee passed away when she was in her seventies. We didn't go to her funeral though. It was small, for only her close friends and family. Phil was there and he would have recognized me. Otherwise, I would have definitely been there.

I thanked the receptionist and turned to Brooke and Darrin. I told them to have a good day. Then I turned specifically toward Darrin and said "Behave yourself, and at least try to respect the teachers. Honestly, they don't know that you've been through high school multiple times." He just chuckled as he turned and went to class. Brooke quickly hugged me and turned and walked away as well.

This is the part of the day that I hated. This is why I chose to work although I didn't have too. This is why I wish I had been turned sooner so I could still go to school. But since I was five years past high school age, there was no pulling that one off. So I would spend my day alone. I definitely needed to find another major to study so I could go back to college.

So I reluctantly walked out the door and to my car, slid into the driver's seat and started the engine. Usually I don't listen to the radio but today I decide to just that and I scanned the stations for a good one before moving the car. Finally I found one that played "oldies" a.k.a. music from my teenaged human years. The song that was playing was _What I've Done by Linkin Park_. It's one of my favorites so I turn it up.

As I put the car into reverse I notice a car pull up beside me. The windows are tinted so dark that it's pretty much black, so I can't tell who it is. I back out and just as I am about to pull away I see who steps out of the car. I gasp and throw the car into drive and punch the gas. It's someone I haven't seen in seventy-three years.

It's Alice Cullen.

Dun...Dun...Dun...! haha Sorry for the cliff hanger but it had to be done. and since i did that to you, I promise an update tonight! 


	6. Chapter 6

Just as promised, another chapter to make up for the cliffhanger. Enjoy!

As I pulled into our driveway I was arguing with myself. Out loud. Like a crazy person.

"What are they doing here?!"

"Probably going to high school for the millionth time"

As I'm walking into the house I'm thinking, "Is Edward with them? If he is we can't stay here."

"But I've wanted to see him for the last 73 years. And why should I leave anyway? I was here first." Now taking on the argument of a grade-schooler.

As I sit down on the sofa my mind jumps back to Alice. "And Alice. I've missed her so much. If it weren't for the shock of seeing her, I probably would've ran up to her and hugged her."

"Of course that would freak her our, considering she probably thinks I'm dead."

And just as the words left my mouth I had a minor epiphany and jumped up. "WAIT! Alice is a psychic!" I yell to myself as I slap myself on the forehead like they do in the V8 commercials. "How stupid can I be! She must know I'm still alive! And probably that I'm here in Forks!"

I grab my keys and run back out the door. I jump in my car and throw it in reverse and race back to the school.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do or say but I just need to see Alice. At first I was scared when I seen her probably because my first thoughts went to Edward. And that always made me nervous.

When he left me he said he no longer loved me and that I wasn't good for him. At first I was devastated but after I found out about my pregnancy I had no choice but to pull myself back together. But some how I can't help but feel as if he was lying. Maybe that's just me hoping that, eventually, somehow we'll be reunited one day and he'd love me again and we'd live happily ever after.

Of course, I never actually expected to be at all close to this ever happening. But now that I've had a run in with Alice, I just couldn't let this opportunity slip through my fingers.

As I neared the school, I was losing my excitement and was beginning to get nervous. What would I say 'Hi Alice. Sorry I ran away before. I'm kind of crazy these days.'

Well, hopefully she would know what to say. Wait, what am I thinking, of course she'll know what to say. It is Alice after all. Wow, I've obviously been away from her for way to long.

As I pulled into the parking lot of the school, for the second time that day, the nervousness hit an all time high. I parked the car. Then I just sat there. I could still see Alice's car, or the car she had been driving earlier that day, so I knew she was still there. I kept thinking that now I needed to walk to the office to see if she was still in there. But I couldn't make myself do it. So I just sat there. And then someone knocked on my window. It had to be Alice, who else could it be?

I rolled down the window and standing there was the Principal.

"Ms. Swan? Umm… can I help you?" He asked obviously surprised that it was me.

"Uhm, no, actually I was just going to head to the office. I dropped my brother and sister off here just a few minutes ago but I forgot to give then their lunch money." I lied to him quite well actually.

"Oh, well that's fine. Sorry for bothering you but when I noticed a car pull in and no one get out, I started to get a little worried." He confessed.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Well I'll just give the money to the secretary to give to them."

"That would be fine." He said.

He turned to walk back toward the office as I shut my car off and finally opened the door to get out. As I walked to the office, I thought I was going to start hyperventilating, which is kind of ironic since I don't even physically need to breathe. With each step it felt as if my head would explode. If my heart still worked, at this point it would have been beating frantically.

I finally made it to the office door and I pulled it open slowly, all while looking at the ground, I was too scared to look up. I took a step into the office and sitting in front of the lone secretary's desk was Alice filling out some papers. As soon as the door closed I noticed that she visibly stiffened. She was definitely aware that another vampire, one she hadn't ever encountered before, had just entered the room.

As she turned around, I saw a wide array of emotions flicker across her face. Starting with surprise, to confusion, to doubt, then finally to happiness. She leapt out of her chair and slammed into me, hugging me. A hug that was long overdue. Seventy-three years over due, to be exact.

Again, with the cliffhangers? I'm sorry. There's alot of them to come. Just a warning. Alice is officailly back!


	7. Chapter 7

So this is the longest chapter yet. I think this chapter is kinda of funny personally. At least towards the end. haha Enjoy!

"Oh My God!" Alice exclaimed as she pulled away from our hug. She looked exactly the same, which was to be expected. She was just a fashionable as ever, I could almost picture her in all the trends that went on during the years we were apart. "You're really here. You're really, really here. I mean I was hoping we would find you again but I just never thought it would be so unexpected like this. And here, right back in Forks where everything started. Just… wow. Is it weird that I'm almost speechless? Almost yes, I said almost because we have so much to talk about!"

"Yeah. We certainly do. How is everyone, Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, Carlisle and Esme? Are they all doing well?" I was careful not to bring up Edward. Not yet at least. I'm not sure if she noticed, but if she did she didn't let it show.

"Yes. They are all perfectly fine. And they will all be more than fine once the find out that you're here!"

"Maybe you should finish filling out your papers. And then we can go back to my house to talk." I didn't really have a response to what she had just said so I invited her over. Finally, after so many, many years we would be able to talk just like before. Hopefully she wasn't planning a spring attack with a make-over any time soon. Brooke was enough to deal with. Now there would be like two of them. I could definitely feel a shopping trip coming, soon.

Just then I realized Alice hadn't said anything about the twins. She was probably just waiting until we were out of the hearing range of the secretary. There was no doubt that she was sitting there all day just waiting for some gossip to spread around.

Alice suddenly jumped from her chair and handed the secretary the papers. When she wasn't fast enough, Alice just dropped them on her desk and turned toward me. "Well, I am pretty sure that we have some important business to take care of."

I looked at her puzzled for a moment then said, "And what would that be?" This statement certainly made me nervous.

"Catching up, of course!" She all but yelled at me. I silently breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing involving make-up or curling irons. Of course, I _was still _pretty done up from this morning with Brooke.

"Yeah. Well you can just follow me to my house since we both drove here."

"Perfect." She replied. As she turned toward her car.

We both got in our cars and we left the parking lot.

--

I pulled into my drive way, parked the car and got out. Alice was already at my door, obviously so eager that she just had to put her vampire skills to use. She had been tail-gating me the whole way here. It was obvious that she was irritated by me only going slightly above the speed limit. I. honestly, was not trying to drive her absolutely mad by doing this, I needed time to think so the slower I went the more time it gave me. So many questions were running through my head simultaneously. Is Edward with them? Did he find someone else? Why hasn't she mentioned the twins? They are her niece and nephew after all. And most of all, if Edward was happy without me. I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answers to all of those questions so for now I'd just stick to talking about Brooke and Darrin, if she gave me an opportunity to ask a question.

I stepped put out the car and we headed toward the door. "How long have you lived here? Alice inquired.

"Only about two years. We can't really stay in one place for too long you know?"

She shook her head yes, just as she noticed the Corvette and monstrous Dodge sitting in the garage. "And when you say we, you mean the people who's vehicles those are? Right?"

"Yes. Brooke and Darrin. They're at school right now."

"Oh, I see." She said as if she were a little disappointed that there was a Brooke and Darrin. "This place is absolutely adorable. You finally have some sense of style Bella"

She said obviously surprised as she looked at my hair, too.

"No, actually Brooke did all this. I still have pretty much no sense of style. Just like before. Honestly my hair would probably just be thrown into a pony tail right now if Brooke hadn't gotten bored this morning and done that and my make-up. She reminds me a lot of you actually." I told her, hoping that we'd actually get on the subject of them.

"Well then, I certainly can not wait to meet your new best friend!"

"Well, actually, I kind of still think of you as my best friend. I mean Brooke is awesome but she's my daughter so I have to be a mother to her, not a best friend."

Alice looked at me in shock. "What?" I asked. I didn't understand her reaction at all.

"What do you mean by daughter? You mean like Esme thinks of my as a daughter?" She asked

"No Alice I mean like daughter as in I gave birth to her."

"Oh so you had kids before you were turned?"

"Yes."

"And when you said school, you meant like senior citizen activities or something right?"

"What?" I said again completely confused. "No, why would they do that?"

"Because by now they would certainly be at that age."

"No, Alice." I said almost laughing. "They're seventeen."

"What…how..?" she said, not being able to complete a full sentence is something I've never see Alice do.

"They're vampires. I guess they got that from Edward." I said sarcastically.

"YOU TURNED YOUR KIDS INTO VAMPIRES?!" She screamed.

I started laughing at her reaction, when I looked up and saw her face I got myself under control and said, "No. No. No. They kind of grew into being vampires."

"What? How can someone grow into a vampire? Be serious Bella. Wait what did you mean by 'I guess they got that from Edward'?" She said, looking at me almost skeptically.

"Well since I was a human and he was a vampire I am just guessing that he's the reason that they are vampires now." Why wasn't she getting this? It's Alice after all, she always understands everything. It's her gift.

"Wait so your saying that Edward is their father?" she was clearly confused and not liking it at all.

"Yes Alice. I am saying that they are also your niece and nephew, you're an Aunt." I said smiling.

haha, Senior Citizens activities, that just makes me laugh. Did you like it?


	8. Chapter 8

Viola! Alice's reaction. Answers alot or your questions about Alice but some won't be answered until the next chapter. Sorry. Enjoy!

"I'm… I'm a what?" She said quietly, if she could cry, I know that she would have been doing just that.

"An Aunt. And Edward is a father." I added.

"What…? How… how is that even possible? I mean, you're joking right, Bella? Please tell me you joking." She said, obviously in shock.

"No, Alice I'm not joking. I'm being as serious about this as I would be if I said you and I were vampires. I'm not kidding around at all." I said. This was all getting a bit annoying now. I'm not joking, how many times do I need to say that?

"Wow…I'm an Aunt. That sounds so weird." She says as she lifts her head to look at me.

"How did you not know? I mean didn't you ever have any visions about them?" I asked curiously.

"Well, when we left… Edward asked me not to look at your future anymore. He said that it would be an invasion of your privacy. I was so mad at him that day! You could never understand, and I'm so, so sorry that I never even said good-bye to you. He wouldn't let me. He said a 'clean break' would be best." As she explained this a look of guilt covered her face. "And well, as much as I didn't want to, I figured that there really was no sense in looking at your future if we weren't in it. I know that sounds really… well… kind of selfish but I don't know… I guess I kind of tried to have a clean break for myself as well. After all, I did lose my best friend that day. But I still had visions of you without even trying. They were more like flashes really. It never lasted long enough for me to get any details or anything. But it was enough for me to know that you were still alive. The others always doubted me when I told them that I had a feeling you might still be alive."

"Oh." I replied, the best way I could think of. I felt guilty that I had brought it up. It was obviously painful for her. "Well, that explains why you were so surprised. I thought you knew but were just waiting for a chance to say something about them when no one else was around."

"Nope. I had no idea."

"But you knew I was still alive?" I asked. I still wasn't sure I completely understood everything.

"Well, I thought you were. I kept telling everyone that you must still be alive because I kept seeing you in these flashes. But they just said it was probably just memories of mine. I knew they had to be wrong. I mean, I can definitely tell the difference between a vision and a memory." She said rolling her eyes.

"Yes, I suppose you would." I replied, laughing lightly. "Umm…" I wanted to ask about Edward but was really nervous. "Uhh… is Edward with you?"

Alice smiled at this. "So you haven't found someone else?" She asked, almost excitedly.

"No, I've never even attempted to look. Honestly…. I still love him."

Alice just beamed at this. She looked as if she were about to start bouncing up and down. "I knew you would!"

"But Alice, you still never answered my question. Is he with you?"

"Well, Bella your in luck. He actually just got back today. He was in Africa doing god only knows what. That's why I was at the school. I was filling out papers because we're all going to Forks High once again!" As she said this I again felt as if I had been cheated by being turned too late.

"Well, that's good. Uhm…" I said, not quite sure of what to say.

"I can't wait until he sees you! He's going to be so happy!" She was literally bouncing up and down now. She hadn't even noticed the sadness that was obvious in my voice or she ignored it.

"Really? You think so?" I wasn't so sure. He did leave me once, maybe he never intended on seeing me again.

"Of course! Bella, your not the only one who's still in love!" As she said this I felt the happiest that I'd been in seventy-three years.

"That's good to hear. But Alice, when I see him, I have to break the news to him that he has been a father for over seventy years. How do you think he's going to react to that?" I asked, almost challengingly.

She thought about it for a minute then replied, "He is going to shocked at first and then he is going to utterly ecstatic and then terribly guilty that you had to do it all on your own."

"I wish I could be as sure as you are." I mumbled. She laughed at me.

"What? You don't have faith in me anymore?" She asked, laughing still.

We then talked about Esme and Carlisle. And Emmett and Rosalie. Apparently I had missed their latest wedding by only a couple of months. Edward was next, Alice said that he had been on his own for the first twenty or so years. She suspected because he was overwhelmed with guilt. She explained to me that he never stopped loving me and that he only left because he felt that me hanging around vampires was way too risky. I wanted to believe her but I guess that's something I needed to hear from Edward himself. Finally I asked about Jasper and her, and Alice almost started bouncing up and down again. She told me that they had just gotten back from a trip to England a month ago and that they were both doing wonderfully. Then I told her the summarized version of my 'life post-The Cullens', I told her how I went to college and the story of being turned. I glanced up at the clock and realized that I had less than five minutes until I had to pick the kids up from school.

"Oh, shoot! Alice, I'm really sorry but I have to go pick the kids up from school." I told her apologetically. As I jumped up and looked around for my shoes.

"Oh, alright. Can I come?" She asked, this took me by surprise. I stopped moving and looked up at her.

"Oh, yes of course you can come. You can finally meet them!" I was excited and terrified at the same time. Brooke and Alice were scary enough apart, I couldn't imagine them both together. "Do you mind if we take my car? They won't recognize yours."

"No, of course not. But actually that's Carlisle's new car. I still have my Porsche. Now its considered a classic though." She said as if it was preposterous that anyone could think that anything was better than her Porsche.

I just laughed. "Well, let's go then." And we left the house and jumped in my car.

When we arrived at the school, Brooke and Darrin were sitting on a bench waiting, they were obviously irritated that I hadn't already been there. I was always early. Everyday. As I pulled up. I saw them stand and walk toward the car, Brooke was the first to notice Alice. She stopped walking and just stood there. Shocked. Darrin looked at her and then at the car and the confusion, that was there a moment ago, vanished. He stopped in his tracks as well.

I got out of the car walked around it to the other side and said to them "Guys, this is someone you really need to meet." Alice stepped out of the car at that point. "This is Alice, Alice Cullen. Your Aunt."

So, it's the longest yet. Did i do a decent job?


	9. Chapter 9

Okay, so the twin's reactions to Alice. And a tiny little bit with Edward. I'm sorry it's kind of a teaser/cliffhanger. It had to be done. Anyways, Enjoy!

"Our what?!" They said simultaneously. Looking both shocked and as if they thought I was playing a joke on them. The just stood there, their eyes were darting from me then to Alice. They weren't sure if they had heard me correctly.

"Your Aunt. As in your father's sister." I told them nervously. I wasn't sure how they were going to react.

"Oh." Darrin said. Still just standing there. Brooke ran up and hugged Alice.

"Mom has told me so much about you! Are you really that into shopping?" Brooke asked as she pulled away from the hug, obviously overwhelmed with excitement.

"Yes. I really am that into shopping. It's probably my favorite hobby." She replied back, smiling and laughing gently. I felt like the physic now because I could definitely feel a trip to the mall coming soon.

"I love you already!" Brooke said dramatically.

"Uhm… Hey, I'm Darrin. But I'm sure Mom already told you that." He said, almost shyly. Which wasn't like him at all.

"So do you guys want to go home and shower or what ever before or after we go see your father?" I asked, trying to sound casual. Me and Alice had decided we would surprise Edward.

"WHAT?!" They both yelled at the same time, again.

"Well, yeah, you're father is here. And the rest of his family. Sooo… if you want to, we can go see him. You guys can finally meet him." I was terribly worried they would say no and that they hated his guts and all the other things that 'abandoned teens' say.

But Darrin simply replied, "Yeah, sure." and Brooke's reply was "Well, let's get back to the house so I can get ready." I rolled my eyes, I could already picture her in front of the mirror in her bathroom curling her hair and putting make-up on.

"Brooke try to make it quick, okay?" Brooke and Alice looked at me as if I were crazy. "Or… take as long as you want I guess."

We all laughed at that. Then I quickly added, "Oh and he still has no idea that I'm alive or that either or you exist. It's kind of going to be a surprise." I said trying to sound nonchalant.

"Good to know." Darrin said as he hopped in the back seat of the car. "So, are we like making a family trip of this whole thing or can I take my 'pick-up chicks' machine?" He asked jokingly.

We all laughed at that, then I replied, "Well, if you want to, you can take your 'pick-up chicks machine'. Brooke, do you want to drive the Vette or just ride with me?"

"I haven't been able to show it off for a while sooo… I think I'll drive. Plus, Darrin did just change the brakes so I still need to take it for a test drive. And see how fast I can wear this set out." She said jokingly. Once again we laugh.

I had imagined this moment so many times over the years and it never involved so much laughing. It was always more dramatic. Screaming, yelling, crying (even though it's not possible for any of us to cry), anger and all that other stuff that would come with dramatic meetings. But this was all light-hearted and everyone was happy. It was different that what I would have expected but it was definitely a good different.

We got back to the house and Brooke instantly ran to her bathroom and started plugging in various 'hair styling equipment', then she ran to her room and changed her clothes. And began the process of re-styling her hair.

Darrin, however, just got a shower, changed his clothes and came back into the living room and sat with me and Alice. Alice was still busy admiring Brooke's decorating skills. I did have to admit, she did do a pretty good job with the room. It wasn't exceptionally large, just about the normal size for a living room. She replaced the carpet with hardwood flooring as soon as we moved in. In the middle of the room was a small coffee table with a blue and white stripped rug underneath it that stuck out from underneath it about six inches on each side. We had a white couch and sofa that were put together in the shape of an "L" and directly in front of the couch was the entertainment center where we had a 36' television and dozens of our favorite DVDs.

"So, you're the psychic hyperactive little pixie of an Aunt that I've heard so much about?" Darrin said as he sat down on the couch between me and Alice. She began to laugh.

"Yea, that sounds about right." And then she asked something that I hadn't expected her too. "So what are your powers?" She asked, the question directed to both of us.

"Uhm… I guess mine would be, other than that I'm immune to powers that work within the brain, as I always have been, that I'm pretty much immune to the pull of blood." I told her. She was looking at me questioningly.

"So like you don't even need to hunt?"

"No. I still need blood, it's just that I don't have the urge to kill people, or animals really."

"So its like how Carlisle is, like how he can work at the hospital?"

"Well, yes, but I've never had a pull towards it, not even from the first day."

"Wow." Alice said in stunned amazement. "And what about you Darrin?"

"Well, I don't really have a power. And neither does Brooke."

"Which I am extremely thankful for. I mean, if the Volturi found out that they were even born they would probably take an interest. And if they had any powers, that would just make them almost irresistible." I said.

"Well, actually, maybe they do. I mean, I've never had any visions about him or Brooke, ever. Even still, I mean on the way to pick you two up from school I had one that had everyone in it, except for you two. I mean it could just be a coincidence but… I don't know. Maybe it's kind of like how your mom's mind can't be affected. But you two are like immune to all powers, even ones like mine. And maybe it's kind of like that with you too Bella." She said now looking at me, "But its not as restricted as it with Brooke and Darrin. I mean, before I could see visions with you in the all the time, but now, they aren't as clear and they can barely even classify as visions because they're so short."

"Hmm… I guess we'll find out once we get to your house and see if Edward and Jasper's powers aren't effective." I said, that's about the best reply I could think of.

"Ready!" yelled Brooke as she ran into the room, as if on cue. I looked at her and she looked beautiful, as usual. Her hair was now curled, the exact opposite of how she had done it this morning.

"Okay then. Here goes nothing." I said as we all stood and walked out the door. We each got into our own cars. And followed Alice to their house. I hadn't even thought to ask if it was still the same house as before. After a couple minutes of going way beyond the speed limit Alice was using her brakes. I assumed this was because we were turning. And I was right. And it was the same house as before. The same long and curvy driveway back to the secluded house, or maybe mansion was a better way to describe it.

We pulled up and shut off our engines one by one. Alice stepped out, and then I did, followed by Brooke and Darrin. I walked over to where Alice was standing, just in front of her Porsche and gave her a nervous smile. Just as Darrin and Brooke arrived at my side, the door to the house opened. And out stepped none other than Edward.

"Alice! Where have you-" He stopped walking and talking at precisely the same moment, when he turned his toward us. He just stood there. Stunned. Just as Alice's face had done, his face portrayed his thoughts. Shock, disbelief, confusion and then, surprisingly to me, happiness. "Bella….?"

"Well, hello there Edward." I said as casual as I could make myself sound, given the circumstances. "It's wonderful to see you again. There are a couple of people you really should meet." I looked toward Brooke and Darrin. "This is Brooke and this is Darrin, my kids. Well, actually _our_ kids."

His head snapped in my direction and stopped scanning around looking from Alice to Brooke to Darrin and to me. Alice must have been blocking her mind because his face clearly showed that he was confused now.

So, who else is excited for a chapter full of Edward? I know I am, and I already know what happens. It's good... i think haha. How did you like this chapter?


	10. Chapter 10

Here is Edward! In all his glory, for those of you who need alot of desciption, i purposely left out a description of the house, I'm sure we all have an image of the house in our minds and i wouldn't want to mess with that for anyone. Anyways... ENJOY!

"Excuse me?" He said. "My… My what?"

"Your children, Edward. Brooke, and Darrin." I said. I wanted to explain everything to him but I didn't know where to start and I figured it best if I just let it all sink in for a moment or two.

"Uhh….umm… So, how are you alive exactly?" He asked me. He obviously didn't know how to respond to the information that was just thrown at him, so he chose to change the subject.

"It's a really long story. So how about the short version for now, I went to Seattle to go shopping," He looked at me skeptically when I said this, I've always hated shopping, even as a human, and he remember that, this made me happy, maybe Alice was telling the truth when she said that he still loved me, "and when I went into the parking lot to leave I was attacked by a vampire and dragged into an alley. But it was scared away by a bunch of humans who stopped at the edge of the alley when they noticed what was happening. It must have been a newborn or something, any experienced vampire wouldn't have done that in plain sight. But anyway so I was bitten and not killed and well, here I am."

"Huh." He replied. I couldn't understand his reaction right now. "We certainly have a lot to talk about Bella."

"Yes, we certainly do. Where is everyone else?" I asked secretly hoping that they were away so I wouldn't have to deal with them all at once.

"Hunting, I was waiting for Alice to return. So I stayed behind." I sighed a sigh of relief. Good, two down, five more to go. "Could we… Could we go talk in my room Bella?"

"Yes, of course. Umm… Alice can you show Brooke and Darrin around the house while me and Edward talk?"

"Actually, I was just about to suggest a little hunting trip of my own. So would you like to go hunting with you Aunt?" She asked Brooke and Darrin. For the first time today, I noticed the dark purple areas underneath her eyes. Edward's were also like that. I felt guilty for breaking up their hunting plans, but I couldn't resist the chance to be with him alone.

"Sure, we haven't hunted for a couple of days, not that that's a long time, but I enjoy it." Darrin said shrugging his shoulders, we all started laughing.

"Yea, I'll go too, It'll give us a chance to plan a shopping trip, Alice!" Brooke told her. I rolled my eyes and turned back towards Edward.

"Well, how about we go inside so we can talk." Edward said as he opened the front door of the house and motioned for me to come in. I walked up the steps and stepped into the house. It looked exactly the same as it did seventy-three years ago when I spent so much time here. It felt like stepping into a dream. The best dream that I could ever imagine.

Edward stepped around me, since I was just standing there. He walked over to the couch and motioned for me to sit down. I walked over slowly, still feeling as if I were dreaming, and sat down next to him.

"Since we're alone, more alone then I thought we were going to be, I see no reason why we can't just talk here in the living room." He said. He was staring at me, it made me feel as if I were almost in a trance, I tried to look away but I couldn't.

"Alright, that's fine. So, what is it that you want to know first?"

"Well, Brooke and Darrin seem like a good place to start. You said I was their father." He said. It was more of a statement, not a question. But I answered it anyway.

"Yes. You are." I said. "Look Edward I know everyone is going to think I'm crazy and that this is just impossible and that vampire's can't-" I stopped because Edward put his finger to my lips.

"Bella, I believe you, and I don't think your crazy. I was just going to ask you how they felt about me, since I can't read their minds."

"Oh." I said, feeling embarrassed. "Well, they didn't object to meeting you and they actually seemed kind of excited about it. I've told them a lot about all of you so in a way they already know you all."

"That's good." He said. He was thinking about something. I could tell by his face. "I should have said something to them, I should have said something, anything. I just didn't know how to respond to such big news. I hope they aren't hurt by my reaction."

"I think they'll understand. Uhm… Do you want to know how the whole process went on?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean like how they're vampires."

"Well, they're like only half vampire aren't they? I mean if that's possible, I don't really know, I've never heard of anything like this."

"I know, that's what Alice said. But no, they aren't half vampire. They are just as much a vampire as you and I. Alright, this'll be easier if I just explain it to you from the beginning. Okay, so I gave birth to them, just as any other human would. They were completely normal toddlers and preteens, just like every other kid, growth spurts and bloody knees. So I thought that maybe they wouldn't even be affected by their vampire genes, but shortly after their fourteenth birthday they lost their color and they started to show the speed that all vampires had. Brooke was mad at me for week's after I made her quit soccer." I said laughing at the memory.

"Why was she so upset?" Edward asked.

"She was the star player really. She played mid-fielder. Do you know what that is?"

"Actually, I don't, I haven't watched much soccer."

"Well, its like the position between defense and offense. Pretty much, they go where they are needed. If defense it getting attacked by the opposing offense then they have to race back to defense and help out, if offense is struggling to get past the opposing defense they have to race up there and help the offense out. She absolutely loved it. She was like you, she loved to run."

He looked up from the floor, the spot he had been staring at during the whole time I was talking about them. "Really? Do they have anything else in common with me?" He asked.

"Well, its mostly Brooke, she looks the most like you and her favorite animal to hunt is a mountain lion, just like you. They both have the same color hair as you, and when they were younger Darrin had green eyes, just like you used, too. Brooke had brown eyes like me though. Darrin reminds me more of Emmett then either of us, which is weird because he's never even met Emmett. But he's always joking around and acting like a tough guy, but he's really a softie on the inside. And his favorite hunting target is a bear." I said laughing at the irony that was going on in my head, I was thinking of Darrin as a big teddy bear when I said that.

"Wow, I've missed a lot, haven't I?" He said, guiltily.

"It's nothing that you can't make up for." I said trying to comfort him, I had to fight the urge to hug him. "But anyways, back to the explanation. After their first, umm… how can I describe it, uhh symptoms we'll call it, they started eating less and less over the next three years until they were eating a meal a day and then the couldn't even stand real food, so I taught them to hunt, well I didn't really teach them because they were more or less naturals at it. And once they were seventeen they stopped aging, no more growing or gaining and losing weight, they just stayed as they were at the age of seventeen." I let out a sigh when I finished telling him the last part.

"That sounds rather frustrating, trying to guess what's going on with your kids, having to make them quit things that they love, and introducing them to a whole new lifestyle."

"Yea, it was. But they were mostly really accepting to it. Even when I told them when they were fourteen, that the reason I never looked any different was because I was a vampire and that they're father was a vampire as well. They weren't like scared or mad or anything like you'd expect from teenagers. They were mostly excited and a little confused so I had to explain everything too them, let them know that what I told them could eventually pertain to them."

"Bella, I'm so sorry." He looked at me, I felt my breathing speed up so I looked toward the ground again.

"For what?"

"For leaving you, for not being there with you. You had to go through all that alone." He buried his head in his hands. Without thinking I put my arm around his shoulders and bent my face down towards his.

"Edward, it's fine, really. Brooke and Darrin made it exceptionally easy for me. They were the easiest kids to raise. They never even threw temper tantrums as toddlers, can you imagine that? Perfectly behaved children. I couldn't have asked for better children. So really it is okay, don't blame yourself. Alice told me why you left, and now I understand that you were just trying to do what you thought was best, just trying to protect me. You had no idea, you certainly can't blame yourself." I was doing my best to comfort him. Really, he had no need to worry about anything.

"They were really that well behaved?" He asked as he sat back up taking his head from his hands. He was smiling, for the first time today. His smile was dazzling. I had to look away or I was going to kiss him, and I didn't know if he wanted that.

"Yea, they were really that well behaved. And just so you know, because I know you've been thinking it, they don't hate you. They've never hated you. You're their father, and they need you, just as much now as ever."

"Thanks, but I guess that's something I need to hear from them."

"I understand." I realized that I still had my arm around his back and I pulled it back into my lap.

"Bella?"

"Yes?"

"Do…Do you still need me?… Want me?"

For what was probably only a few seconds, but what felt like an hour I just stared at him, trying to read his thoughts from his face, but it revealed nothing.

"Yes, Edward, I still need you, just as much now as ever. And I want you more then I ever have."

Edward just started at me. And after an excruciating moment or me trying to measure his reaction, he smiled, my favorite crooked smile. He leaned forward and just before his lips were about to meet mine he said "Well, I guess that's all I could ever ask for."

And then he kissed me. At first it was soft, as if he were waiting to measure my reaction. So I kissed him back, just like I'd always wanted to, with no barriers, with no excuses for him to stop. But he did stop after just a moment. "Bella, by the way, I need you, too. I'll always need you. I love you."

When he said these words to me I couldn't stop myself, I leaned into him and kissed him again, my tongue slipping into his mouth.

Just as I was about to lean back onto the couch, I heard someone clear their throat.

Ooohh... what an unfortunate time to be interrupted. Dang. How did you like it?


	11. Chapter 11

I forgot to tell you all that, I orginally had another version of chapter 10. I, personally, didn't think it was very good, hence the reason I rewrote it. If anyone would like that version just let me know and I'll send it to you. Okay, now about this chapter, a lot of you guess who it was that interrupted Edward and Bella but no one got it right. So here it is, Chapter 11, Enjoy!

Edward looked towards the door, "Rosalie. Back so soon?"

"We've been gone for an hour and a half., Edward. Who's your friend?" She said with just a little bit of an edge to her voice. I hadn't turned around to look at her yet so she didn't know it was me. I turned slowly to face her. Her face lit up, "Bella..?" She asked, tentatively.

"Hey, Rosalie. It's nice to see you again." I said as I stood up, still unsure of her feeling about me after all these years. Edward stood up beside me.

"Oh my god, it's really you? When did you become a vampire?!"

"Yea, it's really me. I'll explain everything lat-" I replied laughing. But before I could tell her that I'd explain everything later, she ran up to me and gave me a hug, if I were human I know she would have cracked some ribs.

"He's been so lonely. And I'm so sorry for the way I treated you before. Hide sight's 20/20 you know? I hope we can start over again." She said all this in a rush, as if I were about to leave at any moment.

"Of course, Rose. Where's Emmett? And Carlisle and Esme? And Jasper?" I asked, now that me and Rosalie had made up, I was excited to see the rest of them.

"Emmett is putting his jeep in the garage. And Carlisle and Esme are still hunting, we came back early, and when I say we I mean me, Emmett, and Jasper. He's around here somewhere I'm not sure where he went. Who's Dodge and Corvette in the driveway by the way? I'm assuming the Ford is yours? "

"Yea, it is. How did you know the Ford was mine?" I was curios as to how she made that assumption.

"Bella, you've never liked anything that would bring attention to your self. The Ford is the most inconspicuous of all three vehicles, it just made sense, that's all." She sounded a little defensive, I think she was worried about offending me. "What about the other two though?"

"Well, I'll tell you that later, once everyone's here. It's a long story and it's kind of a shocker."

"Umm… alright. I'll go find Emmett, he's going to be excited to see you." She was smiling, at me. That was going to take some getting use to, she was never this friendly, maybe it was the shock. Just as she turned around Emmett walked in the door.

"Rose, did you find out-" He stopped. Looked at me and ran and gave me a big bear hug. The one's he used to give me as a human. "BELLA! Oh, wow it's you!" He put me down and turned back to Rosalie. "Rose, it's Bella!" We all laughed at him.

"Yeah, I can see that Emmett." She said smiling at him.

"What? How? When?" Emmet was having a hard time forming a complete sentence.

"Don't worry I'll explain everything to you once everyone is back. It's kind of a long story so it'll be easier to tell once instead of three times." I said. I had a hard time restraining a laugh that was building in my chest. The look on his face was priceless. It was a mixture of happiness, shock, confusion, and many other emotions all crowded into one expression.

"This is amazing. Everything is going to be like it was before. Just hopefully with less drama." We all laughed at his reference to our little encounter with James.

"Yes, hopefully with a lot less drama. Emmett do you know where Jasper is? I kind of have something I need to talk to him about."

"I think he might be out back, he was going out to the shed to grab the gloves and bats. We had a baseball game scheduled for tonight. I think we might have to post-pone that, though. I think that we have some celebrating to do instead."

"Well, yes and some people for you all to meet."

"Oh, you mean the people who own that truck and car out front?" Rosalie scowled at him for the way he described the vehicles.

"Emmett, that is a 2079 Dodge Ram 2500! That _truck_," She scowled at him again as she used his description, "is a masterpiece! And the _car _is a 2012 Corvette! It's a classic! It's a beautiful work of art! How dare you refer to them as just a _truck _and _car_!"

"Sorry, Rose." He said as he hugged her and gave her a gentle kiss on her lips.

"That's right you're sorry." She said smiling now that she'd made her point.

"Darrin is going to love her." I said to Edward. He smiled at me.

"He likes cars?"

"Just as much as she does." I told him.

"What, who's Darrin?" Rosalie said.

"I'm getting a little ahead of myself. Sorry, alright I'll just tell you this to get it out of the way, but really I need to explain the whole thing to everyone later. Darrin and Brooke are my children."

"_Our_ children." Edward corrected me. I looked at him sheepishly.

"Sorry, that's going to take some getting used to as well." I said to him apologetically.

"WHAT?!" They yelled extremely loud. I heard that word yelled a lot today. It made me laugh.

"Yes, our children. Brooke and Darrin. Well, I guess your niece and nephew."

"Wow, okay then, It sounds like you really do have a lot to explain."

Jasper walked in just as Rosalie finished her sentence. He looked at us and then zeroed in on me. He walked slowly toward me and stopped when he was about three feet from me.

"Bella." He said my name as if it were a missing piece to a puzzle, "This is why I've been feeling all these mixed emotions. Alice is going to be so happy, you have no idea how much she's missed you." His reaction to me was more reserved than Emmett and Rosalie's, probably a result from the way he always regarded me as a human.

"Actually, I do, Alice was the first person I saw. She took Brooke and Darrin hunting, to give me and Edward a chance to talk." Rosalie laughed a short quiet laugh at this.

"Brooke and Darrin? You brought along some more vampires? I hope their hunting style is similar to ours." He said, I knew what he meant when he said this, he meant the 'vegetarian' hunting style.

"Yes, of course it is. Well, since I told Emmett and Rosalie. I should probably tell you as well." I told him. "Brooke and Darrin, aren't just any vampires, they're special and not because of they're powers or anything like that. They're mine and Edward's children. And I know that doesn't make sense right now but when everyone is back I will certainly explain everything to everyone." I finished and I looked at him and his face was blank, it revealed nothing of his thoughts.

His reply was simple, he asked no questions. He just gave a simple reply of, "Alright. It does sound like a story that you would only want to tell once."

"Well, I guess I've already told it twice now, in short version. Once to Alice and once to Edward. So three times in one day is plenty for me." I said and we all chuckled. "Oh and Jasper, I need to ask a favor of you. It's nothing difficult, its just kind of a test."

"Alright, what is it?" He asked, I could tell he was still undecided about it until he actually knew what it would be.

"Well, when me and Alice were at my house earlier today, she said that she had never had a vision containing Brooke or Darrin and that any vision she had about me was very short and unclear." He nodded his head, Alice must have told him about the visions she had about me before. "And Edward can't read they're minds, either." We both looked to Edward and he nodded his head in agreement of what I had said. "And I was wondering if you could try to effect them, like I don't know, try to make them sleepy or something. Something that wouldn't change they're mood, they're already so happy I wouldn't want to ruin that."

"Yes, Bella. I can do that once everyone gets acquainted."

"Thank you, Jasper." Edward said before I got the chance to.

"Yeah, thanks." I told him. He nodded his head and then turned his attention towards the front door.

"Here come Carlisle and Esme now." He said. As he walked toward the door, we all followed, Emmett and Rosalie in front of me and Edward. Edward grabbed my hand as we stopped in front of the door waiting for Esme and Carlisle to enter. The door opened and Jasper greeted them.

"Welcome back." I heard Jasper greeting them. "How did the hunting go?"

"Good. Thanks." I heard Esme reply. Her sweet voice sounded the same as ever. Edward squeezed my hand and I looked up at him. He smiled at me, trying to comfort me.

"There's someone you both should see. Someone we've all missed for a long time." Rosalie told them. Emmett was standing beside her. Me and Edward were right behind them, I was hidden by Emmett.

"Who are you talking about?" Esme asked. "When are they coming?"

"Actually they're already here." Edward said.

How was it? Good? Let me know what you think. Any suggestions or corrections (such as grammar) are welcomed. Once again about Chapter 10, if any one wants to read the other version just let me know. I'll sent it to you.


	12. Chapter 12

So here's Chapter 12. Hope you enjoy it!, Chapter 13 may take awhile... just a warning... a little bit of writer's block is happening. so anyway, ENJOY!

"They are? Where?" Esme said, looking around. She still couldn't see me because Emmett stood directly in front of me. I stepped out from behind him and in front of Edward.

"Hi, Esme. Hi, Carlisle." Esme gasped and Carlisle flinched from surprise when I stepped from behind Emmett.

"Bella! Oh, Bella! It's you, it's truly you." Esme exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's me."

"Oh, Alice was right all along. You were alive all this time. Oh, it's so good to see you!" Esme had me in a tight hug at this point. Just like Rosalie, if I had been human, I would have had a couple of cracked ribs right about now.

"It's so great to see you all, too. We have a lot to catch up on."

"Oh, we clearly do." She had the biggest smile on her face. She was beautiful, just as beautiful as the rest of them.

"I have a couple of surprises for you. I think they'll make you, Esme, exceptionally happy."

"Well, what are they?" She asked, a mixture of excitement and confusion on her face.

"Actually, let's have Bella tell you about how all of this is even possible. How she's a vampire, I mean." Edward said. I was glad he said this because I knew that I would get ahead of myself and make the whole story more confusing otherwise.

"Right, of course dear." Esme said agreeing with Edward.

"Why don't we sit down and then Bella can explain the whole thing to us." Carlisle said, it was the first time he had said anything this entire time.

"Alright." I said and we went back into the living room. Edward and myself took the sofa. Esme, Carlisle and Emmett took a seat on the couch and Rosalie took a seat on Emmett. Jasper sat on the arm of the couch next to Carlisle.

"Shouldn't we wait for Alice before you tell your story, dear?" Esme asked me.

"Actually, I've already told Alice everything. We ran into each other earlier today. I'll get to that part." I said laughing because I was already ahead of myself.

"Alright well, I'll start with how I got turned. I was in Seattle shopping," They all gave me questioning looks "I know, shopping of all things for me, but I had to get new clothes for interviews because I had just graduated from college with a degree in high school English. I had already put in a lot of applications at schools around the area and Charlie had given me a long speech about first impressions and that I needed to look like a high school English teacher would look. And apparently jeans and a t-shirt wouldn't do. Anyways, I went out to the parking lot and when I was fumbling around with my keys to unlock my doors I was tackled by someone who turned out to be a vampire. They took me into an alley and we were in there for a short time. A couple of humans had noticed all the commotion while they were walking past and stopped. This was enough for the vampire to flee. But before they did, they had already bitten me."

"It had to have been a new-born. No experienced vampire would have been foolish enough to do a thing such as that." Carlisle said to me, briefly interrupting my story.

"Yeah, that's what I had been thinking as well. Anyways, I stayed in Seattle for a couple of nights until I was sure that I was completely turned, and I had been waiting until I felt this pull, yearning for blood, the sensation that all of you had described to me at one point or another. But this never happened. So I forced myself to expose myself to humans, looking back at it now, it was a foolish thing to do but I did discover that I had virtually no pull toward their blood, no want to kill them. And ever since that night I've never had that sensation."

"Wow, that's fascinating, I've never heard of another vampire that has ever experienced that." Carlisle said. Just as I suspected he would.

I nodded my head in agreement to what Carlisle had just said and continued, "Now, Esme I'll tell you about my surprise for you." She looked at me excitedly now. "Okay, well we have to go back before I got turned, so I'll start with the week after everyone left Forks. I had been getting sick a lot lately. I thought it was just from all the stress I had been through recently," As I said this I felt Edward stiffen next too me, it obviously hurt him to hear me talk about the way he had effected me with his decision. With out thinking, I grabbed his hand and gave it a comforting squeeze and went on, " but Charlie thought I might have the flu or something and he made me go see a doctor. So a week later I went to the doctor's office. I told the nurse all the symptoms that I had been experiencing, and it was only nausea followed but vomiting after I woke up in the morning." Esme gasped. She knew then what I was about to say, "And after a lot of questions from the nurse she told me that they would run some tests and take a blood sample to see if I had caught a bug or something and that they would also have me take a pregnancy test. And the test came out positive. So, eight months later I gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. Darrin and Brooke. And five years after that, I got turned."

"Oh, sweetie, that must have been so hard for you, to have to give up your children like that." She said she looked like she was about to cry. If she could have, she would have been doing just that.

"Actually, Esme. That's the surprise. I never had to give them up, I raised them, just as any human mother would have done. And the big surprise is that over time, the became vampires."

"What do you mean by that, Bella?" Carlisle asked me, looking at me skeptically.

"Okay, well when they were fourteen they started showing signs that they were, for lack of a better word, turning into vampires. They began running faster, much, much faster and they lost their color. They became pale, just like all of us. And over the three years after that they started to gradually loose theirs appetites until they couldn't even eat human food at all. Shortly after their seventeenth birthday I introduced them to the vampire lifestyle in its entirety."

"Weren't they a little upset with all these changes and then you telling them all this?" Esme asked, she was already concerned for them and she hadn't even met them yet.

"Oh. Sorry, I knew I was forgetting something. At fourteen, I had told them about myself and Edward. And what I thought they were becoming and told them why they had to quit sports. I thought that they would be really upset about the whole thing but they were actually quite receptive to the whole idea. It surprised me. Brooke was a little mad at me for awhile but they were generally easy to deal with."

"Wow, that's amazing. Where are they now?" Esme asked me.

"Right now, they are with Alice, hunting."

"THEY'RE HERE?!" Esme screamed.

"Yes, Esme. They're with me. Of course they're with me." I told her. Hoping she wouldn't scream again, she was really loud.

"Oh, wow. This is wonderful, just wonderful. I can't wait to meet them. Carlisle do you realize what this means?" She turned towards him and threw her arms around his neck and gave him a hug.

"Yes, I do. We're grandparents. As odd as that may sound." He chuckled, hugging her back.

"Oh! And this means… I'm an Aunt!" Rosalie exclaimed as she turned around to face Emmett, "And you are an Uncle! And so are you, Jasper!" I started laughing, I couldn't help it. All this excitement over things that I had known for years. I don't really know why this was funny to me but it was.

It was nearly dark now. Alice, Brooke and Darrin had been gone for about two hours already. Just as I asked Edward what time it was the door opened and in came Alice with Brooke and Darrin behind her.

We all stood and waited for them to finish walking into the living room. Alice ran to Jasper and hugged him, "How are you doing today… Uncle Jasper?" Jasper started laughing hysterically. We all looked at him and started to laugh at his reaction.

"What's so funny?" Alice demanded from Jasper.

"Hearing you… say that… makes me feel… really old." He replied in between laughing.

Alice started laughing at this. "Jasper, you are really old."

"I know but I've never felt that way until you said that." He was still laughing just not as hard now.

"Alright, now that we've stopped laughing, well almost," I looked at Jasper he was still trying to keep from laughing, "I should properly introduce you to your, grandchildren and niece and nephew." I walked over to stand next to Brooke and Darrin. "So, this is Brooke, and this is Darrin." Esme walked over to them and gave them both bone crushing hugs.

"Would you like us to call you Esme, or… Grandma?" Darrin asked. I could tell that he wasn't comfortable calling her Grandma and not just because he didn't know her. She barely looked thirty.

"Which ever you would like. Esme is fine." She added the last part after she noticed the uncomfortable look on his face when he said Grandma.

"And the same goes for me, Grandpa or Carlisle. Which ever you are more comfortable with."

"I'm Rosalie and this is Emmett. If Alice or your mother hasn't already told you." Rosalie said taking Brooke in a hug and Emmett hugging Darrin. When they let go they switched spots and hugged them again.

"I was assuming this was Emmett and I knew you were Rosalie. Alice has already told us so much about you all that, I already feel like I've known you for years." Brooke said. Jasper took a step forward and extended his hand toward Darrin to shake. Darrin instead used his hand too pull him into a hug. Jasper was shocked at first and then he hugged him back. It was just like Darrin to skip the formality that anyone tried to have and just went for the family embrace, not the introduction of strangers.

We talked about a million things, from everyone's powers, to planning a baseball game, to planning a shopping trip. I could have gone a hundred years without the planning of the last one. But I was just happy that everyone had gotten comfortable with each other so fast. It was like we hadn't been separated for even a year, even though it was actually seventy-three years. Darrin and Rosalie went out to the garage to take a look at Rosalie's new car. He wanted to show her his 'pick-up-chick's machine' as he liked to call it.

Alice and Brooke had gone up stairs to look through Alice's extensive wardrobe. They were up there for hours. Meanwhile, the rest of us caught up, telling each other stories of random things that went on in our lives during our time apart. Brooke came down the stairs a couple hours later.

"Mom, it's almost six o'clock. What time are we going back to get ready for school?" Maybe it was more than a couple hours.

"What all do you need to do? Like do you need a shower? Or just to do you hair and stuff?"

"Yeah, I'm going to take a shower so, it'll probably take me about an hour and a half."

"Wow, you are a lot like Alice." Edward said as he started laughing.

"Yepp, apparently we are extremely alike in that department."

"Alright, well if you need that much time, we'll have to get going soon. Darrin is still outside with Rosalie and Emmett. They were checking out your car, last time I knew."

She smiled widely and then said, "Yeah, everyone always has to check it out when they see it. It is a classic, not as much of a classic as Alice's Porsche but still." I laughed,

"Well alright I'll go let Darrin know that we're going to leave soon. You can say good-bye to everyone while I tell him." I walked outside to the garage and him and Rosalie were looking under the hood of Emmett's new Jeep.

"Hey, Mom. What's up?"

"We're going to have to be leaving soon. Brooke needs her time to lock herself in her bathroom you know?" I said laughing.

"Yeah, believe me, I know. This morning she almost knocked my bathroom door down just to get her flat iron." He said chuckling.

"Wow, she is like Alice isn't she?" Rosalie asked from under the hood.

"Yeah, she definitely is."

Rosalie turned to look at Darrin and placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder and said, "Darrin, I feel your pain. I really do." We all started laughing.

"Alright Mom. I'll head home, as soon as I get done helping Rosalie put all these wires back where they go"

"It's alright Darrin, I can get it. You can go and get ready for school." Rosalie told him.

"I'm not the one who needs an hour to get ready, that's Brooke. I'll have plenty of time."

"Alright." She agreed laughing.

"Alright then, I'll see you at home in a little while Darrin."

"'Bye, Mom."

"Bye."

I walked back into the house and Edward and Brooke were discussing something. "Hey Brooke, Darrin said he'll be coming in a little bit, he's helping Rosalie with Emmett's Jeep."

"Alright, I'm going to head home then. See you when you get there, Mom. 'Bye everyone, I'll see you all later. 'Bye Mom." she stood and kissed me quickly on the cheek and dashed out the door. I heard her car engine start and her pull out of the driveway. I turned to Edward and asked, "So, what were you two talking about?"

"Brooke was explaining to me how to play soccer. That way, I can teach everyone else. After all, baseball does get old after awhile."

"But I thought it was an American past-time?" I said, flirting just a little, bringing up a conversation that we'd had such a long time ago.

"Oh, it is. But soccer is also the world's favorite sport so, I'm not quite sure which wins the battle here." He said, smiling at me. I laughed, well it was more like a giggle, I couldn't help myself. He was just as amazing as ever.

"Well, I better get going. I have things that I need to do at home." I said as I looked toward the door and then back as him. I didn't want to leave but I always take Brooke and Darrin to school.

"Of course. I'll walk you to your car." as he stood he took my hand again. He pulled me towards the door. He opened it and motioned for me to go first. I walked down the steps and waited for him until he was at my side again. We walked over to my car and stopped at the driver's side door.

"Well, I'll see you later today, probably after I pick Brooke and Darrin up from school."

"Actually, can I come over today? I mean, if it's not a problem."

"No, no it's no problem at all. Uhm.. You don't know where I live though."

"I know the town fairly well. Who lived there before you?"

"The Anderson's. It's just a little way's down Hope Street."

"Yes, I know where that is. I'll be there at noon? If that's okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

"Okay then, I'll let you get going." As he said this he angled his head down towards mine and lightly pressed his lips to mine. I resisted the urge to run my fingers through his hair so I settled for placing my hands on his chest. He pulled away sooner than I would have liked and simply said, "Good-bye, but only for a short while." and he opened my door and I climbed in.

"See you soon, Edward." I replied and started the engine and put the car into reverse to leave. As I was driving down their long and curvy driveway, I was smiling and feeling as if I were about to cry. Of course, I didn't but I felt like I could have. It's the happiest I've felt in such a long time.

Did you like it?


	13. Chapter 13

Okay, Sorry in advance. This chapter is kind of a filler. I just couldn't pass up the time to write about Brooke and Darrin and instead just write about Bella and Edward. I'm pretty sure every story has plenty of romance in it and i will be getting to it. ENJOY!

As I pull into our driveway I see Brooke's car parked in the garage, already. I don't bother pulling mine in along side it because I will just have to take it out again later.

I turn the engine off and step out of the car into the cool morning air. The dew is still on the ground and the light from porch light is gleaming off of the front lawn. It's exceedingly quiet out because it's so early so I can hear the crunch of the stones beneath my feet.

I walk up the steps and into the house. Brooke has her stereo blasting. It's one of her favorite songs, _Popular by The Veronicas. _It's from one of my many CD's that she's listened to from my human years.

I walk to her bathroom and I see her dancing while putting her make-up on. I just stand there and watch her for a moment, trying not to laugh. Of course, I failed. After a short moment I couldn't suppress the urge to laugh any longer. She turned around abruptly and scowled at me.

"Hi, Mom. Thanks for laughing at me." She said sarcastically.

"Sorry. I couldn't help it." She again turned and glared at me then turned back towards the mirror. "Oh, honey you know I'm just jealous. I'm just lucky that I can actually walk across a flat surface now without falling, I couldn't imagine moving the way you do."

"That's true. I've seen you try to dance before. It's actually really funny." Now it was my turn to give her a dirty look.

"Anyways, Darrin will be back shortly and after you two are done getting ready for school, I will drop you off." I said, I'm sure she was well aware of our morning routine but for some reason, actually I was pretty sure I knew the reason, I was in a rush.

"Alright. Oh!, Mom what is the name of the main character chick from the _Scarlet Letter_? I forget and we have a quiz today." Seriously? Is she kidding?

"Brooke, how many times have you been through high school now?," Not bothering to wait for an answer, I answer it myself, "At least four. And I'm fairly sure that you've had this book assigned to you at least that many times. You really should be able to remember this." How could she forget something like this? This book is a literary classic. "Okay, well now that I'm done lecturing you, sorry by the way, her name is Hester Prynne."

"Ahhhh… Hester, that's right. Alright, sorry, maybe I'll actually pay attention in English class today." I just laughed at her and turned back towards the living room. I highly doubted that she would actually do that.

I walked into the living room and decided to lay down on the couch and watch the news for the morning. I hadn't seen the weather for the past couple of days, maybe a sunny day was coming up and we could have a day for some family bonding. Brooke and Edward seemed to get acquainted rather quickly but Darrin seemed a little shy and intimidated around him. It's something I'll have to talk to him about.

I was listening to the weather man, Gary Stevens, go on and on about the fronts coming in off the ocean and down from Canada. Of course, it was going to rain. It's what always happens in Forks. Just when they cut back to the news desk, Darrin walked in the door.

"Hey Mom. What's in the forecast? Wait! I bet it's rain." The first thing he says and he's joking. This is the Darrin I'm used to. He came in and took a seat on the sofa.

"And right you are. Rain will be drizzling down upon us for the next five days at least." I replied trying to imitate the seriousness of the forecaster's voice.

"Goodie, the everlasting showers have yet to cease." At this, I burst out with hysteric laughter. The sentence just sounded so formal, I think that's the first time I ever heard him use the phrase 'have yet to cease'.

"You should get in the shower. You have grease all over you. That's going to take awhile to get off." I suggested, after I had finished laughing.

"Yeah, I'm headed there now. Mom can I ask you a question first?" I had a feeling this had something to do with Edward.

"Of course."

"Alright, well when I was in the garage with Rose, she said something about you and Edward getting back together. I was just wondering if you… well if you were." I noticed that he didn't call Edward, his dad.

"Well, we haven't had that discussion yet. Why were you wondering?" I didn't really understand why he would be so tentative to ask me this, as if he were afraid of my answer.

"I was just wondering, I mean I don't really know him yet and if you two did get together he would probably move in right?"

"I don't know. But I wouldn't do anything unless you and Brooke were both okay with it. I would never have someone stay with us unless all of us were comfortable with that situation." I would have thought he'd have known this already.

"Okay, thanks Mom." He stood up and started to walk towards his bathroom.

"Hey Darrin?"

Yeah, Mom?"

"Your dad, Edward. He's not a bad guy. You should get to know him."

"I know he's not a bad guy. It's just… he's a bit intimidating don't you think? I mean he's done a lot of really awesome things. Alice told us a lot about him, and a lot about when you two where together before. He just seems really serious all the time. And Mom you know me, how often am I actually serious?" He said the last part laughing.

"Not very often. We've all had a lot to deal with lately, just give him time, he'll loosen up. And Emmett is the same way that you are and they both get along so well. It'll just take time. We should do something together as a family, with everyone. I think Brooke's interested in playing a game of soccer."

"Sweet! Me and Brooke would kill the other team. No questions asked." His mood was picking up now.

"Okay, I'll talk to Edward and Alice about it. There's a place where I used to watch them play baseball, that I think would make an excellent soccer field."

"Awesome! It should be SOON! I've been in need for some _real _competition." He said smiling, I knew he said it just loud enough so Brooke could hear him.

"I HEARD THAT!" Brooke shouted from her bathroom. Me and Darrin both started laughing. We both knew that Brooke was better at soccer than Darrin, he just liked to annoy her. Darrin just continued laughing and walk off towards his own bathroom, to get a shower.

I glanced up at the clock and noticed that we had ten minutes until we had to leave. Then I would come back home, do laundry, clean the house a little bit and wait for Edward to show up. I could barely contain my excitement. I wanted to rush the kids to school early, as if it would make Edward get here faster. I knew that he wouldn't, however, show up until noon. He was always on time for everything, exactly.

"Brooke, you have like five minutes until we have to leave." She on the other hand rarely paid attention to the clock, one of the things that she _didn't _have in common with her father.

"Alright, alright. Don't rush me, I'm almost done."

Darrin walked back into the living room with two minutes to spare. If only Brooke could get ready that fast. He was ready in only eight minutes.

"Did I get all the grease off Mom?" He asked me spinning around in a circle.

"Well, I don't see any so, I'm going to assume that you did. You two must have been doing more than just changing a couple of wires." This was obvious, even I knew that you couldn't get the dirty from just changing wires.

"Well, yeah, we changed his oil, too." That explains all the grease, well it was probably oil actually.

"Ohh. That makes a little more sense. So you like Rosalie?"

"Yeah, she's pretty cool. Who else has an Aunt that's _that_ into cars? It's pretty refreshing after spending all my time around Brooke. She'd have a panic attack if she got some grease on her." We started laughing. It was probably right though. "So Brooke has Alice, and I have Rosalie. And what's up with Jasper anyways? He seems a little shy. Like he only really talks when he's asked a question or something."

"Jasper has a lot to deal with _all_ the time. If you think that you have been overwhelmed lately. That's how he feels 24/7. He's always being bombarded with these emotions from everyone else. I couldn't even imagine having to deal with that all the time. But questions later, we have to get going, or we're going to be late and we don't need to do that two days in a row."

"Alrighty then. Let's get going for another amazingly exciting day at Forks High." He said with fake excitement coloring his voice. I just laughed and called for Brooke.

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Hold on a second. Mom, have you seen my other black flat?"

"It's by the front door." She's the complete opposite of organized, except for when it comes to her bathroom and beauty products.

"Oh. Alright, I'm ready, we can leave now."

--

I dropped the kids off at school and went back home and started the laundry. First I did all the jeans, except the pair that Darrin had been wearing in the garage. I had to scrub them out by hand, and I just threw his shirt in the trash, there was no hope for it.

I always had to do this, practically every time he did anything in the garage. I think he likes doing this just to give me something to do, as if I have nothing better to do. Well, usually I don't, but today is different.

Edward will be here in two minutes. I walk into the kitchen and put the dawn dish soap back under the sink, it's there specifically for 'projects' like Darrin's pants. Why else would we need it? To wash the supper dishes? Ha! As if.

Just as I close the cupboard door, the door bell rings. This must be Edward. Here we go. I walk to the door and pause before opening it. There he is, in all his glory.

"Hi, Edward, come on in."

BTW, For those who've read Breaking Dawn... Thumbs up or Down? For my its Two Thumbs Up! I absolutely LOVED IT!


	14. Chapter 14

**Alright. I know it's been like a bajillion years since I've updated and I'm sorry. I've had like zero inspiration and had no idea about where to take this story and I didn't want to just give you a bunch of filler stuff. So anyways here's the next chapter and I'll TRY very very hard to update faster.**

"Hello again, Bella. How was the rest of your morning?" He asked as he stepped inside the house. I shut the door behind him and we walked into the living room.

"Oh, just like it always is. We left at the last minute, got to the school just before they would have been late, and then I came home and cleaned up and did some laundry. Mighty exciting." I told him, sarcastically, as I took a seat on the sofa and he sat down on the couch.

"Yeah, it sounds like it would be." he said, as if he hadn't noticed my sarcasm, as if he really thought it would be exciting. "Why were you running late?"

"Oh, we weren't really running late, that's just how our mornings are pretty much everyday. Mostly because Brooke takes as much time as she possibly can and we always leave at the last possible moment."

"Oh, so she has a time consuming morning routine then."

"Yeah, you could definitely say that. She's always ready in time though, so I guess it could be worse. At least Darrin gets ready quickly. He came home covered in grease and still managed to get ready in about ten minutes."

"He enjoys working on cars and trucks as much as Rosalie does it seems. She said he's almost as good as she is, and that's a big compliment coming from her." he told me, smiling, he seemed almost… proud.

"Yeah, he's been messing with them long enough that he should be about caught up with her."

"Is that his main hobby? Like Brooke's used to be soccer?"

"Well, yeah, I guess you could say that. But Darrin used to play soccer, too. He played for two years but quit when he turned twelve to play football. And then he had to quit that when he turned fourteen, he would have started to seriously injure the other kids otherwise. He was never obsessed like Brooke was, though. He enjoyed it, but it wasn't his life. But when he got into high school and started going to a technical school half of the day, he pretty much fell in love with cars and everything to do with them. When Brooke bought her Corvette, he practically begged her to let him rebuild the motor until she finally gave in. The deal was that Brooke would let him rebuild it, if he did whatever she wanted for the next week, so in anyone else's opinion, besides Darrin's, it was a very lopsided compromise."

"Yeah, I would have to agree. What other talents do they each have? Other than mechanics and sports?"

"Well, they're both musical, Brooke plays the violin and Darrin loves the acoustic guitar. Brooke teacher was absolutely amazed at her speed of learning, she pretty much had the violin mastered within three months. And Darrin taught himself, so it took him a bit longer but he's an amazing musician. So Brooke is better in the athletics and Darrin's better at music. They each have their own talents." As I explained this to him, a smile lit up his face as I told him of their musical abilities, of course he'd be pleased about that.

"You know, I think you should attempt to get to know Darrin, like you started to with Brooke, instead of asking me all these questions. He's going to be mad at me for telling you this but, he's kind of intimidated by you so I think you're going to have to start that conversation and be patient." I said this as fast as I could, just to get it over with. I felt horrible for telling him something that Darrin told me and probably never wanted Edward to hear.

"He's… intimidated by me? Can I ask why?" He said, clearly surprised.

"I'm not sure exactly. I guess it's just because your not as out going as Alice or Emmett. And he doesn't have anything, that he knows of, in common with you. But once you guys get to know each other I think it'll be easier. I just don't think he'll do that himself, you'll have to do it."

"Well I'm glad you told me this. I'll talk to him tonight then."

"Good. Oh yeah, Brooke and Darrin said something about possibly having a soccer match sometime soon."

"Me and Brooke were talking about the same thing last night, do you think the baseball field would work for a field?"

"Actually that's exactly what I told them last night. It should be big enough. For vampires the field should probably be at least two times the size of a standard one so I'd say that it's definitely big enough. Now the problem is the ball. Where are we going to find a ball that won't pop when Emmett kicks it? Brooke has one that her and Darrin use that has held up for awhile but with Emmett taking swings at it… I'm not sure how long it'll survive."

"Don't worry about it, I'll take care of that. I'll talk to Alice and see when she thinks that best time for the game will be. The next thing is the goals… I'm guessing that the traditional material they use for the nets won't hold up either?"

"Not likely. It'll probably have to be made out of some type of metal material."

"Yes, well I'll take care of it all. So what would you like to do today Bella?"

This caught me off guard and it took me awhile to think of something, "Well… umm… we could go to the meadow." I said nervously and then quickly added, "If you'd want to do that."

"Excellent idea. Run or drive?"

"How about a race?"

--

I stayed behind Edward the whole time, not even trying to run faster than him, the only memories I had of the meadow were decades old so I didn't even know where I was going. When we finally got there I was more beautiful than I remembered. It was spring so there were wild flowers everywhere. It was cloudy with a slight breeze which felt good as we ran against it. Once we got to the meadow we just sat down in the middle of it until Edward broke the short silence.

"This is the first time I've been here since I came with you."

"I thought you came here a lot though?" I said, not quite sure of what made him say this.

"Well, after that time with you, it was no longer my spot, it became our spot and without you I just couldn't bring myself to come here." He said very plainly and with very little emotion revealing itself. I didn't know what to say so I just didn't say anything. And after a short moment of silence he continued.

"That's pretty much how my entire life after you has been. It just seemed like no matter what I did, playing the piano, baseball, books, music, everything reminded me of you. So I, more or less, checked out of life. Most of the past seventy some years I've spent on my own, not being able to bring myself to look into the faces of the rest of my family and see the pity they held for me, and the guilt I felt for hurting every single one of them by my decision. Without you… I wasn't living." By this time Edward's head was once again placed in his hands, like that of someone who was in complete despair.

"I'm sorry," I said, not knowing how to make it better or let him know that everything would be alright.

He lifted his head and scowled at me as he said, "Bella, why would you say that? What could you possibly have to be sorry for? I should be the one apologizing, not you."

I let out an exasperated sigh and said, "Edward, I'm just trying to find a way to make you feel better, there's nothing to be sorry for. Honestly, all is forgiven. Please let's just get past this. I don't want to keep going backwards, I just want to move ahead." I, once again, put my hand on his shoulder to try to make things more clear to him that I was really ready to start this new chapter within our lives, whether that be separately or together I just wanted him to let this go.

"I'm sorry, I'm ruining this for the both of us. This is just supposed to be about catching up, and instead I keep bringing up the past. Let's move on. Tomorrow, since it's Saturday I think you, me, Alice, Brooke and Darrin should all go on that shopping trip. We could go to Seattle and go see a movie or whatever all of you would like to do. I think it's about time for some family bonding time."

"Ugh... Shopping…alright, it'll make Brooke and Alice happy. And we'll all get to spend some more time together."

"Alright sounds great. Alice is probably going crazy right now with excitement." He said laughing. I could picture her in my head jumping up and down just after she had the vision. Tomorrow is going to be great.

**Oh NO! A shopping trip... dun. dun. dunnn...  
I know it probably wasnt worth the wait but was it at least decent?**


	15. Chapter 15

Okay so I know I haven't updated in like 324684 years but here it is. I've had a terrible case of writer's block and I've been busy with high school, work and a couple of college classes i take on the side soo I'm sorry, but maybe you can sympathize with me. Anyways, here it is. Enjoy!

Oh joy, shopping, I thought as I sat in our living room watching a movie that was at least thirty years old. Last night me, Brooke, and Darrin all went hunting in preparation for our big shopping trip too Seattle, since we would be around hundreds of humans all day, it wouldn't exactly be a good thing to take a risk on, even though I really had nothing to worry about.

Brooke and Darrin were now shut up in their rooms trying to figure out what all they wanted to buy. I'm sure Brooke's mental list would consist of mostly clothes, shoes and accessories. It had been awhile since we had been to Seattle so I'm sure she'd go crazy and buy way more than what she actually needed. Darrin's list would probably be car parts, car accessories, movies, a limited amount of clothes, since a lot of his tended to get ruined from grease and oil, and of course random other things he would see along the way.

My list, well I didn't exactly have a list. Alice would insist on numerous items of clothing for me to buy so there's really no sense in me even contemplating that. And other than clothes I didn't really need anything.

The plan was to leave about ten o'clock, we'd catch a movie and then we'd head to the mall. Alice arrived at nine thirty. I heard a car pull into the drive way and then someone practically sprint to the door. Of course, it was Alice. She burst in the house ran into the living room and jumped onto the couch next too me.

"Bella, I was online all night looking at clothes and I have like seven complete outfits that would look amazing on you. And no rejections please. It's been so long since I've had someone to shop for because Rose won't let me anymore." She said, practically begging me to let her have her way.

"Alright, whatever Alice. You and Brooke will probably be together most of this trip anyway." I said, which was totally the truth. "Who's all going anyway?"

"Well, obviously me, you, Darrin, Brooke and Edward. And Rosalie and Esme. The guys are going hunting in the Appalachian Mountains this weekend. But of course I'll pick up a few things for Jasper even though he's not coming." At this I chuckled, I knew that Alice actually meant like at least twenty or thirty things, not a few.

"Yea, a few." I replied. "Can you do me a favor Alice?"

"Uhm… What?"

"Well, can you please let me pick out some of my own clothes today? Please? Just some."

She started laughing and said, "Well of course Bella, I wouldn't do all of your shopping for you."

At this I laughed again, because I knew that if she had the option she definitely would do exactly that.

"Well how about we get going then? To your house I mean, to meet up with everyone."

"Sure. Let's go. Brooke, Darrin, ready yet?" She said, directing her voice towards the stairwell.

"Yea, yea. We're coming." I heard Darrin say as he came out of his bed room and closed the door behind him. Next cam Brooke and they both were down in the living room with us within seconds.

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It was down pouring, the hardest it had rained in a long time. The long curvy driveway up to the Cullen's house was muddy and I could hear the river rushing along. We pulled up to the house and Alice jumped out of my car and ran to the front door. God forbid a little rain touch her, which I'm sure it didn't at the rate that she ran. I laughed as the rest of us piled out of the car and made our way, at a normal pace, to the door.

We were greeted by Edward and Esme and Rose wasn't far behind. Hugs were exchanged, kisses from Esme, as we made our way into the living room. We all took our seats, Edward next to me, I noticed, and then Brooke and Alice started talking about which stores to go to first. Before they could get too far along I had to interrupt.

"How about you and Alice shop together so we all don't have to worry about keeping up with you two and the rest of us can just go wherever we want. We all do have cell phones, so we can split up." I said, directing it towards Brooke since she was the one who was talking just before I interrupted them.

"Alright. Whatever's good for you. Me and Alice do have a pretty big schedule."

"Schedule?" I asked, "For shopping? Wow, if they had a rehab for shoppers, you two should so get into that."

"Ha-Ha, very funny." Alice said, with a scowl on her face. "Just because we plan to enjoy ourselves today doesn't mean we have something wrong with us, we happen to like shopping, it doesn't cause us pain as it seems to do to you."

"Yea, yea. Funny. But actually I do plan to enjoy myself today." I said, glancing over towards Edward. "As long as you don't lock me up in one of those torture chambers you call a dressing room."

"Whatever." She replied, as she jumped up from the couch and ran up stairs. I looked at Edward and before I ever asked, he answered my question.

"She went to get her purse. It's time too leave."

"Oh." was all I said in response.

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Once we got to Seattle, which didn't take very long since I was riding with Edward, everyone else rode together, we all got out of the cars and walked into the mall. Alice had apparently forgotten about the movie and when I asked her why she'd come straight here, her only response was something about good sales in the early hours. So I dropped it. There was no getting out of it anyway.

"Well me and Alice, are going this way first," Brooke said, pointing to her left, "So how about we meet up in a couple of hours at the food court, you know, for 'lunch'?" She said, using those stupid air quotes when she said lunch.

"Sounds like a plan." Edward said, and Brooke and Alice left.

"Rosalie, do you know any stores that sell sound systems? The one I have in my truck just isn't big enough anymore." Darrin asked.

"Yep, right this way." She said, pointing straight ahead and they walked off. Now it was just me, Edward and Esme.

"Well where to first Esme?" I asked her. Since I wasn't exactly here to shop I figured we might as well do what someone else wanted too.

"Well I was thinking we'd head to Pottery Barn. I think I need some things for the living room, it hasn't been redecorated in so long." And we started walking to our right, the opposite way of Brooke and Alice, I noted thankfully.

"Cool, let's go. Maybe I'll find something for my house while we're at it." I said, which would also give Brooke something to do, other then to mess with my hair and do my make-up.

"Speaking of your house, I've never seen it Bella." Esme said.

"Well, how about you all come over after shopping. You can give me some decorating tips." I said, just as long as I got to spend more time with them, I was up for anything.

"That's a great idea." We walked the rest of the way in silence and once we got to the store, Esme was on her own. Me and Edward couldn't have kept up if we wanted too. So we just browsed around the store on our own. We hadn't talked for such a long time that when Edward finally did say something it scared me.

"You know, we're not going to vanish right?" He said, smiling at me.

"Uhm… what do you mean?" I said, honestly confused.

"You keep going along with things just to spend time with all of us. Like this shopping trip, you never would've agreed to it this easily before. And the decorating tips from Esme?" He said, then chuckled. "Like you really care what your house looks like in terms of its decorations. Seriously Bella, we're not going anywhere, I promise." He said as he reached over and took my hand. I didn't really know what to say so I just turned toward the closest shelf and started examining everything on it in great detail, but was careful not to let go of his hand.

"I know that. It just seems like we have a lot of time to make up for. So why waste the time we have right now? You know?"

"Yea I know. Well, Esme is going to be awhile I'm sure so, is there anywhere else you wanted to go?" He asked, obviously trying to change the subject.

"Yea, I kind of wanted to go to Border's sometime. I could really use some new books." I said, some of my books had worn out a little bit.

"Alright, well let's go then. Esme we're going to go to Border's don't forget what time we're supposed to meet back up." He said to her as if she were standing right next too him, even though she was on the other side of the store. He waited a second and then nodded and walked toward the door. I was assuming that there had been some kind of mental response from Esme since he hadn't said goodbye or anything.

As we walked down through the mall still holding hands, Edward began asking me all these random questions again.

"Has Brooke or Darrin ever had a boyfriend or girlfriend?" I was pretty sure I knew what he meant by it, because he didn't make it sound like a good thing at all, and I was pretty sure he meant a human boyfriend or girlfriend.

"No, they haven't really. They've had human friends though. Which I was a little bit skeptical about at first I mean, as a mom I try to protect my kids and letting them hang out with humans all the time just didn't really seem all that safe. But they did fine. So I had to relax and enjoy the extra company that dropped by the house.

"It was weird though," I continued, "seeing them interact with people everyday because when I first met you and your family, you really did your best to avoid them, except Carlisle of course. But I got use to it, and even made some friends of my own at some of the high schools I taught at."

"What all states have you lived in?"

"Well we lived in Washington, obviously, North Dakota, Maine, Michigan, and Pennsylvania for a winter. Mostly northern states. I've always wanted to go back to Arizona though, but the sparkly skin doesn't exactly fit in real well down there." I said, laughing as he laughed and nodded his head in agreement.

"Not exactly, no," was his only response.

We had finally gotten to Border's, after multiple other questions had been asked and answered. I browsed the 20th century section for a long time before deciding on one book to buy from this section. If I didn't limit myself, we'd have a really bad situation. But I desperately needed a new copy of Pride and Prejudice, which made the decision easier. After I'd found my copy we browsed around the rest of the store, looking at recently released books.

Edward picked up a few for himself and I grabbed a couple of the new ones that I thought I might like and we headed up to the cash register. The cashier was a girl in her late teens, she looked as if she had just started college, she just had her hair thrown up into a messy bun, and she looked like she hadn't gotten enough sleep the night before.

Edward walked up to her and handed her his books. She hadn't really looked at either of us but when she did she quietly gasped, which she tried to pass off as a cough. She blushed and looked down. Slid his books across the scanner and told him his total. He handed her his card and he picked up his books. She handed him back his card and he slid it into his back pocket.

Next it was my turn. I placed my three books on the counter and watched at she did the same thing with my books as she did with Edward's. She told me my total and I pulled my card out of my pocket and handed it to her. But before I could Edward's outstretched arm was in front of me, with his card in his hand as he handed it to the girl.

"This is on me," he said, I didn't argue because I knew it was pointless.

"Okay, I guess," I said as the girl once again took his card.

Just as she was handing it back to him we both froze. I knew what he was thinking and I wasn't even the psychic one. A vampire had just entered the store, and it wasn't anyone we knew.

Sorry about the cliff hanger guys! I promise to work on this chapter as fast as possible! although that still may not be very fast. Sorry.

Oh btw, i have a poll up on my profile that i think you guys might be interested in. Go check it out. plz. oh and reviews are nice, so i can see if you all are still likeing the story. =]


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